INDIANAPOLIS — The salary cap is indeed a complicated subject and one that has caused worry among Cowboys fans, who sense the team’s activity in free agency will be limited because of financial constraints. As it stands now, the Cowboys are approximately $20 million over the NFL’s projected payroll ceiling and must get under it by a March 12 deadline.

Asked about the room the team has to clear, Cowboys’ executive vice president Stephen Jones didn’t hesitate. “It’s a lot of space,” he said.

But it’s not enough to make him panic because there are mechanisms that permit the Cowboys to restructure the contracts of some of their most costly players and in turn reduce their cap number.

Such maneuvers would help the Cowboys trim their 2013 budget so they can comply with league requirements. But would those moves allow the Cowboys the freedom to acquire a bushel of talented veterans on the open market?

“I don’t think we’ll be able to do a lot,” Jones said. “I think we’ll be able to do the things we need to do. I don’t think it’s going to be major like it was last year. We’re not going to be able to go out and get a bunch of guys.”

Flash back to last March, when the Cowboys went on a spending spree, picking up seven free agents. The big catch was cornerback Brandon Carr, who was given a five-year, $50.1 million deal.

The likelihood of acquiring a player with Carr’s value seems far-fetched this year. It’s an even more remote possibility if the Cowboys can’t come to terms with quarterback Tony Romo on a contract extension.

Romo’s current deal expires after next season, and his 2013 cap number is an unwieldy $16.8 million. Extending Romo’s deal, a six-year, $67.5 million agreement finalized in October 2007, would give the Cowboys more financial flexibility — a point Jones has emphasized to the quarterback.

Yet formal negotiations between the club and Romo haven’t started, and the Cowboys don’t feel pressed to make any other moves just yet.

“We’ve got ’till the first day of the league year to do some of our business,” Jones said, referring to March 12. “At some point as we get closer, we’ll start to let some of those guys go. We’re not in a big hurry.”

In fact, Jones seemed at ease Wednesday. He feels confident about the roster as it stands now and doesn’t fear the prospect of the Cowboys being relatively dormant in the open market. He then quipped, “Our plan in free agency is to get guys healthy.”

“It’s part of it. It’s not frustrating. It’s not overwhelming,” he said. “We’ll get the job done. We’ll put the best possible team we can on the field.”

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